Jurors Convict Ex-teller Of Theft

October 18, 1985|By Cecilie Ditlev-Simonsen, Staff Writer

A former bank teller was found guilty Thursday of stealing about $41,000 from the night deposit bags of a Fort Lauderdale restaurant.

As a teller, Judith Marie Hepler, 30, processed money deposited in the night drop slot of the Royal Trust Bank branch, 2800 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. The bank has since been acquired by Florida National Bank.

Only Hepler and one other teller had keys to the drop, according to police reports. Hepler handled deposits made by Shooter`s restaurant on Feb. 22, March 7 and March 21, 1983, the reports said.

Bank officials became suspicious when they received bags that contained MasterCard, Visa and American Express credit card deposits but no cash, the reports said.

When questioned by the FBI about the money missing from Shooter`s, Hepler admitted she had stolen $1,000 and repaid that amount, prosecutor Fred Damski told the jury in closing arguments on Thursday.

``(She) is a deceptive person for trying to get the FBI off her back,`` Damski said. ``It was a phony confession.``

After five hours of deliberation, the jury found Hepler guilty of grand theft. She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 22. Defense attorney Joseph Dawson said he will appeal the conviction.

During closing arguments, Dawson argued that there was no evidence Hepler even saw the money. He said no one could prove the money ever made it from the restaurant to the bank.

``And someone else opened the vault and took the bags out. By the time (Hepler) got to the bags, the money wasn`t there,`` he said.

Bank records showed that on Feb. 18, there wasn`t enough money in Hepler`s account to cover the checks she wrote, Damski said.

Then, on Feb. 22, the day of the first theft, Hepler made a $2,500 cash deposit to her personal account and even larger deposits in March and June, Damski said.

Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. John Calabro said that Hepler`s husband, Matthew, began depositing his paychecks into a saving`s account instead of cashing them after Feb. 22.

``He`s making about $12,000 per year, and he wasn`t living off his meager earnings,`` Damski said, adding that Hepler`s husband lived off the cash she had stolen.

Damski said Hepler lied when she applied for the position at Royal Trust Bank by failing to disclose her previous job with the Southern Bank of Broward County, 501 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park.

``Did she have something to hide?`` Damski asked the jury.

Hepler was acquitted last year of a charge of stealing up to $21,500 from Southern Bank, according to Dawson.